taken by David

for the few of us and many other fortunate ones who managed to get their tics to the singapore gp, the past weekend was much immersed in the smell of burnt rubber, sights of incredible machines, roars of over a thousand horsepower, and much shoulder rubbing against fans from all over the globe. the three days of f1 over at the marina circuit park was truely breathtaking and awesome, with many bits of the experience being just totally indescribable.

for those three days, the atmosphere seemed nothing like it was in singapore. the crowd, track, circuit, set up, facilities, professionalism... was stunning, except for a number of hiccups which after all was inevitable.

ask any fan, and they'd probably tell you that f1 isn't just about the cars and the races. instead, its really about the appreciation of all that monstrous power beneath the hood of the machine, which man has managed to tame and control so beautifully and gracefully at will. it is about the admiration of the tremendous teamwork that works behind every driver, and witnessing the technology that constantly advances at every race. put those together, and one will have no problem understanding why people are willing to pay five digit prices to be at the heart of the action.

so, apart from all the expected happenings of the event, some of the unique experiences we got were access to almost anywhere and everywhere including the support paddock :D, treating one of the drivers after a collision, catching Adrian Sutil of Force India's crash (exactly beside our medical post) right before our eyes and all the action that came after, and etc... rocks.

thank you noelle for being such a great roving partner and company to have. hours would just appear so long and meaningless without you. thank you! :D

whoo, what a weekeend. definitely not for the ferrari peeps and their fans though. i feel their pain already. :(

pics by junjie. wahh, i like the pics. but i love him more for taking them lah :D

just to share some photos that i've managed to get, with some luck at the singapore f1 grand prix. it was the first time that i'm shooting motorsports and i have to admit its difficulty was nothing close to anything i've shot before. it was challenging in many aspects, but the results in some of the pictures, i thought were astonishing and to an extent, satisfying (considering it was my first time too!).

for a start, i was at the losing end. my beloved nikon d80 was nowhere near a professional dslr, my zoom lens is one of the cheapest in the market, and so is my external flash gun. moreover, standing during the races are not allowed, except for some parts of the grandstands, which would majority of the time then, be overly packed with desperate photographers like myself leaving latecomers with either blocked views or nothing left to shoot. personally, i hate crowds, so as much as possible, i tried to avoid them.

heh, so i guess you'd have to make full use of any and every opportunity that is available to you. as it is said, you're the master of surrounding elements. in other words, make use of every element to your advantage in making a good pic, even if it seems uncommon.

ambrose and i before the race at the marina aka ndp grandstand. directly behind of us is the actual track which the F1 cars would be racing through. the noise from a f1 car's engine is approx 130 db that is about the same, or even more than a fighter plane taking off... ultimate extreme! so practically every spectator had to have a pair of ear plugs. if not, none of those spectators behind us would even last a second there.

that's our buggy which we used to transport a casaulty with a severe bleeding palm from having it sliced across a railing, to the nearest a&e ambulance. however majority of the times, this buggy was there to collect our lunches and dinners which was virtually impossible to walk to due to the great distance. in doing so, it had to get through quite a distance on the race track which often found itself held up being halfway back with the food as the track was closed for the race cars.

ferrari fans. they were the first few to leave even before the end of the race, due to the team's tragic lost over the pit incident. real sad. those flags cost about S$120 too, if i remembered right.

skyline of the day time races. needless to mention, the weather was unforgiving and burning! the porsches seen on the track were moving through at speeds more than 160 km/hr.

mechanics doing their final checks on these porsches before the cars are brought out for their race.

porsche cars lined up and getting ready for their afternoon race - porsche carrera cup asia, as part of the f1 singapore gp programme.

finals in the porsche carrera cup asia, at turn 18. wahh, this is ultimate tailgate mann. i won't hesitate to !@#$ any driver who does this to me on the road i tell ya.

finals in the porsche carrera cup asia, at turn 18.

this car belonged to the singapore team, driven by gerald teo, a singaporean in the porsche carrera cup asia. he clinched third position in the finals. here, it just returned to the paddock for maintenance after the race.

an aston martin being pushed out of the paddock and onto the assembly area where it will take off for its race. thats how light it is!

aston martins in action. it was a race by the way, not trial runs.

taken inside the aston martin's paddock. we were granted access through this restricted zone. heehee.

these belong to the bmw formula 1. the yellow flag indicates an accident up ahead, hence upon passing it, all cars will have to slow down, form a line, and eventually follow the safety car which will cease to function on the race track when the accident obstacles are cleared.

bmw formula 1 cars at turn 14 (raffles grandstand). managed to sneak up to get a couple of shots before i was chased down. lol. worth it wasn't it?

heading for turn 18.

it was a mistake of forcus actually. but i thought it still makes a good and interesting shot doesn't it? haha.

fiat minis driven by hot italian chicks parading through the race course. haha. it was part of the highlights for the night before the actual f1 night races began. cute cars!

that's the safety car for the f1 event, a vehicle thats truely commendable on. it weighs as heavy as a normal car on the road, and has its aircon working inside (holds a driver, paramedic, doctor and nurse) which ultimately draws lots more power. however, this baby is expected to reach speeds as fast as a f1 car in order to maintain the high speeds, guide, and lead the cars when an accident occurs on the track. hot stuff!

LEWIS HAMILTON waving to crowds during the drivers' parade just before the finals on sunday night.

skyline of the singapore f1 gp night race finals. seen on the track is a car in the midst of the race.

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the below pics were taken with the panning technique (tracking the movement of the cars). hahh, it took abit of tries to get it right finally, which was extremely challenging considering the cars here were flying by at speeds of over 260km/h. though far from perfect, i was really happy with the results!

leave for friday and monday applied.
work schedule taken care of.
lens and filters brushed, blown and cleaned.
cameras' batteries charged.
shades polished.
items packed.

... checked, and good to go!

off to the F1 for the full 3 days. heard there's even free flow of beer at the finale party that we're invited to on sunday. heehee. yeah baabbyy. here i come! whoohoo!

all thanks to red cross (:

lets admit it, singaporeans make the biggest !@#$%^ up drivers amongst all others. road hogging, tailgating, lane cutting, having no regard for the safety of motorcyclists, forever rushing even when there's not a need to... what's new? more ridiculously than ever, it makes no sense to have massive jams every morning when accident vehicles are already moved to the road shoulders. so why then are there jams? because singaporean drivers are just too damn kpo that they cant help slowing down to have a !@#$ing good look! not to mention some retards would enjoy the opportunity for 4d numbers...

in fact, if one can get charged for creating a nuisance in public, i don't see why there isn't more reason for motorists who choose to be reckless and irresponsible enough to speed and land themselves up in an accident, in doing so cause a jam and delaying thousands of other road users to their destinations, to receive similar charges or perhaps greater ones as well??

its disgusting to witness and experience how often cars cut into paths of motorcyclists without any regard for their pressence. that includes me, main culprits - taxi drivers. eh, c'mon lah. motorcyclists pay road tax too, give us the space we deserve can? or must our button to horn be converted to missle launchers before we get that small bit of respect?

its probably due to the fast paced society that cultivates us to be all time chiongsters with no level of patience on the road. and since everyone behaves in the same manner, we perceive such barbaric behavior to be well acceptable. but then again, take a look at thailand, vietnam, and etc... one can see that drivers there don't even need traffic lights to work out who's to give way. so wake up, there's still more to be worked on ok?

while neither am i a saint on the road... i do take every effort to practise a little road courtesy and patience, believe it or not. but of course, there are always just some bastards who don't deserve to be treated nicely.

in hope to have time pass quicker, leonard is thinking of getting a pet to keep him company in the office. he is considering a few options that include hamsters, fish, baby lobsters, meal worms... and sea monkeys. he has already spent half the day surfing the net, learning how to care for each little creature who may soon become his friend, and is confident that whichever little friends he chooses, they will be assured of their happiness with him.

however, leonard has a problem. he doesn't know what will happen to his friends when the weekend comes and no one is avail to feed or play with them. the fury ones should have no problem with this, but the noise from their wheel will probably prove to be extremely irritating and eventually cause the colleagues to throw them out of the window in no time. the meal worms would require the least maintenance. but if they were to reach adulthood and begin laying eggs that end up hatching all over the office... then leonard can be prepared to throw himself out of the window instead.

after much thought, leonard is still undecided. perhaps, he hopes that readers might be able to offer him some suggestions.

happy birthday to mr harry lee kwan yew! 85 today and still going strong. whoot, he's the mann. (:

leonard paid a visit to mount alvernia hospital yesterday to see his friends - greg, joy and their new borned baby, tricia who was delivered only a few hours earlier. it had been exactly 19 years and 5 months since he last stepped foot in the hospital, as he too was given birth to there. upon entering the vicinity and building, it suddenly occured to leonard that he might be in the wrong place, for the place appeared far more like a church than a hospital.

stood in the driveway, he saw a statue of the blessed virgin mary, and a few steps from the main entrance, a chapel with the tabernacle exposed. everywhere else, he found crucifixes hung on walls, statues of the saints and wards named after each of them. it was nothing like what one would encounter at any other hospital. leonard liked it. he felt so at peace, comforted and at home. a part of him felt proud to be a catholic, knowing that the hospital was actually part of the church. after all, it was the catholic church that established the first hospital and took care of the sick.

leonard met the family there after. they were physically drained from practically not having any sleep the whole night. but as he could see, nothing beats the joy of gracefully receiving the blessings of a new borned child. only a few hours old and Tricia's already such a beauty. for that afternoon, everyone's admiration was on the baby. Truely, she is a gift from God and leonard prays that likewise she too will grow up to be a gift to others.

Leonard thought, he is aging fast.... it was no longer aunties and uncles who are getting married and having kids, but cousins and friends of the same generation. he pondered over when his turn will come and how life will be like having to raise up kids. for a moment, it did not seem easy at all.

leonard is bored at the office. he hasn't opened his mouth and said a word for the whole day because all the staff are out on course, only being nice enough to leave him alone with a pile of documents to accompany him for the next two days. he tried starting some conversations with the papers, but that didn't really work. so, being ever so hardworking and diligent, leonard has managed to finish the two days worth of work in eight hours. hence having nothing else better to do now, he figured getting a new blog skin might be a good idea. after all, he is beginning to get annoyed with the small texts on the previous skin. after some time of scouting, he came across this. he liked it, thinking it reflects well the dull and boring lifestyle he is currently leading.

leonard was hoping to keng today and leave the office early. unfortunately his boss just returned, meaning he can only knock off at 1800 hours, 00 sec, on the dot like every other day... not a second earlier, not a second later.

a date to set some time aside for.

Amplify in the City

In the hustle and bustle of our lives, have we lost who we are? Have our lives lost the meaning and verve that they used to have?

Do you feel the need to get away from it all, to recharge and refocus but can't afford the time for a retreat?

Mark your calendars this September as Amplify Ministry brings a refreshing worship encounter for all you, young people at the heart of the city!! There will be passionate worship & relevant teaching session during the event.

Join hundreds of young people from all over Singapore as we come together to worship and encounter the Living God and the awesome life He has in store for you!

All you need to do is come. Spread the word.

Date: 12 September 2008, Friday

Time: 1945hrs

Venue: NTUC Business Centre, Auditorium Level 7, 1 Marina Boulevard

For directions: Look out for our volunteers with bright orange lanyards at Raffles Place MRT from 7.15pm onwards! We will be there to show you the way!

If you are going by yourself:By Bus - Collyer Quay / Clifford Pier / Clifford CentreSBS - 10, 57, 70, 97, 100, 107, 130, 131, 162, 196SMRT - 75, 167, 531, 546, 700, 970

im spending way too much time on the computer at the office nowadays and my poor eyes are already beginning to feel the pinch. not that im surfing around or playing games, but unfortunately, much of the work requires the com.

hence as much as i can, im limiting the time i spend with the com when im back home, meaning less blogging and msn and more eye chillin. if not, its only a matter of time that i turn blind. hahaha

lately, with whatever free time im left with, im building up my photography portfolio over at flickr, which i'd like to share with you, especially those who may have similar interests in photography. if you have the time, do take a look. your comments will be most valuable! its add is www.flickr.com/leonardlms . if you've got a flickr account, even better! drop me a message and i'll add you there.

cheers!

with the conclusion of exams, attachment began last monday and will probably last me through till approx end of chinese new year 2009 which marks the end of my poly studies. except for the fact that im living in boonlay and my office (center for competency based learning & development) is at east coast-katong, which self explains the torturous long and frustrating journeys having to sit through the jams to the east and back everyday, im surprised to find myself being able to take on tasks in my stride and actually coping rather well. though workload at the office is no doubt getting more tedious by the day, at the same time i cant deny that im gaining a huge load of valuable learning experience and knowledge each time... so ive got nothing to bitch about at the moment just yet. haha.

interestingly enough, everyday in katong has been a fat feeding, mouth-watering food adventure. famous katong laksa, nasi lemak, tao gua bao, bak gu teh, brizilian samba, wah seriously the list never ends, heehee. but then, ive decided to bring food from home for lunch daily, in hope of saving some money to get a macro lens. anyone with sources for good second hand ones, also much appreciated! nonetheless, if you happen to be around the corner, you could drop me a message. and i'll be glad to be your makan guru for the day! :P

incase you havent been keeping up to date with the news, the SAF recently unveiled its new no. 4 uniform. and in doing so, stirred up a good amount of commotion over the whole issue, especially the case on "Wife of a regular officer wants to petition against the change in army uniform because she don't find it sexy." LOL, how much lamer can we get (click here to read whole story). as awful as it may be, i'll well go with anything that better keeps me alive. in this case, VR man? :D

however, i don't get the rationale for the new position (circled in red) of the rank apaulette, machiam power rangers. woudn't all the crawling through mud and anything and everything eventually dirty and cover up the rank there? then also cannot see mah, whats the point. no surprise if officers start getting mistaken for privates then. ha ha.

if what the media mentioned is true, that it probably means that that is what's gonna be on me next year... sian.

wah seh, whats next mann... thermal cooling underwear?

photo source: http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/publications/cyberpioneer